107 Opening of the Ocean Gods Graveyard. (1/2)
Fang Ying had quite a few contacts in the Tian clan, her communication jade carrying the marks of almost all the disciples that entered this competition. And these people, in turn, would have contacts of their own in both the Tian clan and the other clans and sects. All she had to do was send out one or two messages which would then end up being spread further and further, each new person that learned of the news would send them along, causing it to spread even faster.
Li Yang had nowhere near as many connections as Fang Ying, there was only one mark in his communication jade, only one person he could contact. And that person was Xiang Wuying, a Yuan clan disciple that hadn't even entered this competition. As such, Li Yang spread the message in a different, but much simpler fashion, he sent the news directly to the Yuan clan using the jade that they had fused into his chest. The Yuan clan could not afford to disregard news like this so they notified the other disciples in the competition, having all of them check the validity of the news.
According to Fang Ying, Tian Zheng or the others had yet to send over any news about the Ocean God's Graveyard, so they either didn't know or they had come to an agreement. Even if they had come to an agreement to work together, Li Yang didn't really care. He would throw any wrench he could into their plans, and it would be and Fang Ying who snagged all the best resources from the Ocean God's Graveyard.
The news quickly spread, every single person in the hidden realm quickly learning about the opening of the Ocean God's Graveyard. And what spread along with the news was utter chaos, countless cultivators rushing to Cloud King city so that they could head to the Cloud God's Garden. The Ocean God's Graveyard was what had allowed the Tian clan to take the top position among all the clans, none of the clans and sects would allow their disciples to miss this occasion.
Of course, an added benefit of this chaos was that even if Tian Zheng and Xiong Xieren had made some type of agreement, they would most likely be forced to break it now. If Tian Zheng gave up on the Ocean God's Graveyard and helped Xiong Xieren and the Puppet God Sect, he would be branded a traitor to the Tian clan the moment they learned of it, he had no choice but to compete with Xiong Xieren the moment the Ocean God's Graveyard fully opened.
As for Li Yang and Fang Ying, none of the chaos affected them in the slightest. Fang Ying knew where the Ocean God's Graveyard was located so there was no need for the two of them to locate a map first, they could quietly wait for it to fully open. Only after it opened could they enter it and figure out what to do next, after all, neither of them actually knew what to expect inside the Ocean God's graveyard, the only other time it had ever opened was many years ago.
As such, right after sending out the news about the Ocean God's Graveyard, Fang Ying grabbed onto Li Yang's hand and the two left the underground cave they had created. Fang Ying chose their direction, saying that she had something she wanted to show him in the place where they were supposed to originally meet. They walked hand in hand, keeping a leisure gait as they took their time, Langshen sauntering a bit behind them.
Li Yang had already told Fang Ying about his life after he was reborn so now it was her time to tell him what she had experienced. She told him about her life in the valley village where she met Langshen and was then picked up by her master, she told him about her somewhat challenging first years in the Tian clan, about the hunting mission where she had awakened her past memories, as well as about all the things she had done to look for him.
With their cultivation, even a leisure gait made it so that they moved faster than a galloping horse, it only took them a little over two days to reach the spot that Fang Ying had picked out for their meeting. The place she had picked was rather close to the eastern edge of the Cloud God's Garden, only about two days walk away from the actual edge of the continent, it could easily be reached if one followed one of the countless rivers that meandered across the continent.
This part of the continent was covered in a vast ocean that was as blue as the sky above them, not a single cloud visible over the ocean. But strangely enough, despite going all the way to the edge of the continent, none of the water fell over the edge, it seemed to be held in place by some strange force. There were several small islands dotting the ocean, Fang Ying leading Li Yang to one of the smaller islands, no larger than a hundred meters across. The island was covered in small orange flowers that waved about in the gentle ocean breeze, making for quite a captivating sight.
Fang Ying swiped her interspatial ring, a completely open and circular pavilion made from white wood appearing in front of the two. The pavilion didn't have any decorations or engravings and it only held a single table in the center, a circular bench encircling the table. Li Yang looked at the pavilion, letting his hand slide over the wood, which had been neatly polished and cleaned.
”You prepared one of these, huh? It really has been a while since we got to use one.”
When the two of them had first met, Fang Ying had been sitting in a pavilion just like this one. It was in pavilions just like this one that the two of them had spent quite a long time together, sometimes spending days or even weeks just sitting in one, just enjoying the presence of each other without saying a single word. Fang Ying also traced the pavilion, a gentle smile on her face as she sat down by the table and took out a small clay jug and two glasses.
”Of course I prepared one. Unlike you, I know how to prepare properly ahead of time. Come, I think you'll enjoy this one.”
Li Yang didn't comment on her statement, sitting down on the other side of the table, accepting one of the glasses, which Fang Ying had filled with a light red wine that released the faint scent of apples. Langshen looked at the two entering the pavilion, rolling his eyes for a short moment before vanishing into a ripple in space, checking out the surrounding islands. Li Yang sipped the wine, his eyes opening wide when he recognized the flavor.
”Old Man Chao's wine? Is that old goat still kicking?”
The taste of this wine was exceedingly familiar to him, he had drunk it with Zhao Feng and the others quite a bit in the past. The only one who had been able to make the wine was a wrinkly old man called Situ Chao, but they simply called him Old Man Chao due to his wrinkly appearance and unknown age. Fang Ying finished her cup of wine in a single sip, looking at the scene in front of her with a content smile.
”No, I don't think he still lives, I haven't heard anything at least. This wine is a replica I had the best winemaker in the Tian clan make. She was rather annoyed at how much I pestered her, but it ended up pretty good in the end, almost the exact same as in the past.”
She poured herself another cup, filling up Li Yang's again at the same time. Both of them proceeded to savor the wine and the scenery, none of them needing to say a word, just their presence was enough for the other. The hours quietly passed, Fang Ying pointing towards the edge of the continent once the sun started setting.
”Look, that's what I wanted to show you. Familiar, isn't it?”
Li Yang turned his head slightly, his gaze landing on the scenery Fang Ying wanted to show him. The sun was just moving below the edge of the continent, the orange light dyeing the ocean and the sky a deep orange. The sky and the ocean blended together, the line between the two of them becoming completely indistinguishable. Li Yang looked at the scene with a soft expression, his expression somewhat distant.
”Of course it's familiar. We killed Su Qing on a planet that looked just like this area. What was it called again, Ocean's Heart?”
Ocean's Heart had been one of the stranger planets they had ever visited, it was a completely square ocean just floating through the universe, a large sun rotating around it. As for Su Qing, she had been a very strong cultivator who had wounded Bai Yawen and Ye Ning in a battle. He and Fang Ying had tracked her down and killed her after having chased her over several planets. Fang Ying's lips curled up slightly, her eyes staring intently at Li Yang.
”Bzzt, wrong. We killed Su Qing on the Western Sun planet, the one controlled by those strange fire porcupines. There was something else that took place on Ocean's Heart planet, I'm sure you'll remember it if you just give it a bit more thought.”
Li Yang rolled his eyes slightly, thinking back to the past in an attempt to remember what she was talking about. After a bit of time, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly as he remembered things properly.
”Right, that did happen on Ocean's Heart.”